Rich and dying Edwina Cutwater (Lily Tomlin) is arranging to have her soul transferred into the body of a young beautiful woman (Victoria Tennant) just after she dies. Instead it gets sent to the body of stuffy lawyer Roger Cobb (Steve Martin) and both of them fight to gain control.
This is not a great movie by any means. It's really not all that funny; it's flatly directed by Carl Reiner; Tennant is terrible at comedy; there's some highly unlikely situations (especially at the end) and I didn't buy what happened to the main villain at the climax for one second. Still, Martin and Tomlin make this worth seeing. Tomlin technically isn't in it that much. After she dies (early on in the film) you only see her as a reflection whenever Martin looks in a mirror or glass surface. It's a credit to her acting that you think of her even when she's not on screen. Martin had a VERY difficult role. He had to show male AND female characteristics in the same body at the same time. It's tricky but he manages to pull it off and he's actually pretty hysterical. Even people who hate this movie agree his performance is just incredible. There's a courtroom sequence at the end where he's just magnificent. The fact that he wasn't even nominated for an Academy Award for this is a crime (although he DID win a Golden Globe). Don't miss the dance sequence during the closing credits. So, all in all, the movie has some great moments but doesn't really pull together. Worth seeing for just Matin and Tomlin. I truthfully can only give this a 6.
This is not a great movie by any means. It's really not all that funny; it's flatly directed by Carl Reiner; Tennant is terrible at comedy; there's some highly unlikely situations (especially at the end) and I didn't buy what happened to the main villain at the climax for one second. Still, Martin and Tomlin make this worth seeing. Tomlin technically isn't in it that much. After she dies (early on in the film) you only see her as a reflection whenever Martin looks in a mirror or glass surface. It's a credit to her acting that you think of her even when she's not on screen. Martin had a VERY difficult role. He had to show male AND female characteristics in the same body at the same time. It's tricky but he manages to pull it off and he's actually pretty hysterical. Even people who hate this movie agree his performance is just incredible. There's a courtroom sequence at the end where he's just magnificent. The fact that he wasn't even nominated for an Academy Award for this is a crime (although he DID win a Golden Globe). Don't miss the dance sequence during the closing credits. So, all in all, the movie has some great moments but doesn't really pull together. Worth seeing for just Matin and Tomlin. I truthfully can only give this a 6.